I Am America (And So Can You!)
by Stephen Colbert
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Book Reviews of I Am America (And So Can You!)
Book Review: A Life Changing Experience!
Summary: 5 Stars
First, I want to thank Mr. Colbert for saving me from a dim and meaningless life as a book-reading, thought-having, liberal. "I AM AMERICA (And So Can You)" showed me the light (not that I'm a fan of The Enlightenment) and released me from my prison of 'reality' and 'facts.'
Even better, Mr. Colbert taught me that books are useless objects that only make you think. Think of all the money I'll save now that I can stop reading! (Note to Amazon: Maybe you shouldn't carry this book, if too many people read it, it could cut into your profits...)
Evern though the words are only printed on the page, it's like I can hear Stephen Colbert reading them to me in my head. This book is just like watching "The Colbert Report" but I can read it at night without my wife telling me to turn down the volume!
After reading this book, I realized that every other book ever published pales in comparison, so I emptied out all of my bookshelves. (Even my cookbooks.) I piled them all in my front yard. When the garbage men didn't take them away, I couldn't figure out what to do with them. Long story short, my neighbors called the police when the bonfire started to catch their lawns on fire. I say a $500 fine and a scorched lawn is a small price for such a firey (ha!) act of patriotism.
Did you hear that Stephen Colbert is running for President? After reading this book, I'm thinking of moving to South Carolina just so I can vote for him. Twice if I have to.
READ THIS BOOK. In fact, read ONLY this book. Buy multiple copies and resell them to your friends. (Don't give them away - Stephen says "no free rides!") If every person in America would read this book, we'd save our nation from femiliberislamocommunoenvirofascism (and Bears) by the end of the week.
It's up to you, Heros!
Book Review: Love Colbert Report -- but Only Liked the Book (sorry Stephen)
Summary: 3 Stars
I Am America (And So Can You) has its moments, some grins and chuckles, but ultimately is fatiguing and not as funny as the show. While I am a huge fan of the show (I fear bears and pretend to wear my WristStrong bracelet proudly), I found this book to be long on rant, leavened only occasionally with insights leading to flashes of genuine humor.
Reading this book (or in my case, listening to it as an audio-book voiced by Stephen Colbert himself) is akin to hearing Colbert do his "The Word" segment, but without being able to read the sharp-sighted counter-text that accompanies the pseudo-rant. You hear the mock-right-leaning critique -- but without the counterbalancing left-of-center subtext the, diatribe loses a great deal of its humor.
The book does provide Colbert the opportunity to talk about subjects that his 30-minute "daily" show format does not provide. Some of his insights on family had me smiling. And the "soul mate" monologue had me in stitches. But these pieces of wit become overshadowed during the midsection of the book by the endless riffs on the homosexual agenda. We get it Stephen, you were in a drama club (or maybe a comedy troupe) where you may or may not have had to contend with the awkweirdness of being hit upon by somebody gay. When it happened to me I was flattered to be found attractive by both sexes, but I moved on. And because I moved on, I didn't end up writing a book.
The book perks up again towards the third, well, third but doesn't break much new ground. If you love the show as much as I do, you will enjoy this book as it is a codification of many of the themes touched on in the show. I only wish that Colbert had broken new ground and given me a few more hearty laughs. Or if he had at least make it more clear how I can be America too.
Book Review: Get Ready Nation, For The Funniest Book You'll Ever Read
Summary: 5 Stars
I have only recently become a fan of Stephen Colbert after accidentally coming across the Colbert Report (pronounced "Repore") by him anyway. From that very first accidental episode, I fell in love with his work and his satirical representation of the typical American and their look on life. That episode happened to advertise this book, and I bought it to see if the satirical personality of Colbert could come across just as well on paper. I needn't have worried as the right wing Republican character of Colbert came off, at times, better than his TV personality.
In this book, which he openly admits he didn't write but dictated himself, he gives us his honest and at times controversial opinions on a number of aspects of life.
The family
Old people
Animals
Religion
Sports
Sex and dating
Homosexuals
Higher education
Hollywood
The media
Class war
Race
Immigrants
Science
They are the truth, the Stephen Colbert truth. The only better truth is the word of God so you better accept the second best truth of Colbert. "Racism no longer exists in America" one of Colbert's many truths, if you can't handle it, then you better go live somewhere else.
All joking aside, if you're a serious reader, then this book isn't for you. It has to be read one small part at a time as if you do read for any real length of time, then the text will become predictable. If you read it as if you're watching the Report (remember the T is silent) I found it came across much funnier than if you were just reading as you would any other book. That being said, it's still an awesome read and is something that can only really be appreciated by fans of the show.
Book Review: COLBERT SCORES AGAIN!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Stephen Colbert, with wit, homor, and stinging satire, again rocks the Reich-wing by speaking truthiness to power. Colbert is the most gifted wit to come along since Mark Twain and Will Rogers and no one should miss an opportunity to read and watch him.
WARNING: Due to presidential executive orders and signing statements, and provisions passed by the previous Republican-controlled Congress, the National Security Agency may have read this posting, as well as and any other private correspondence of mine, and may listen to my private phone conversations without warrant, warning, or notice, and certainly without probable cause. They may also arrest me without telling me of any charges against me, even transport me outside the United States, and hold me secretly and indefinitely in an undisclosed location without notifying my wife or relatives, and deny me access to an attorney. They may take my property under the executive order of July 17, 2007, never to be returned. They may torture me without fear of penalty or repercussions to them for their actions. They may do all these things to me, or to you, with little or no judicial or legislative oversight. This danger became ever more apparent, and ominous, on Sept. 19, 2007, when the U.S. Senate failed to reinstate habeas corpus as an inalienable right of American citizens. I/We have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current president and vice-president, and voting to remove all rubber-stamp Republicans and neocons from office, as well as other elected officials acting only in their own interests instead of those of the People and the Constitution, be they occupying local, state, or national positions of authority.
Book Review: Same old stuff "as seen on TV"
Summary: 2 Stars
Ayn Rand, in one of her books (I forget which), has the protagonist, an author, who is known for his large, long books, write a book which is much shorter than usual for him. A critic, upon reading the book, calls it "a cheat". This book is a cheat. It is printed on very thick paper (about the thickness of a normal book's endplates); it has large white spaces between the lines of text, and is filled with extraneous material (e.g. stickers, many pictures of Stephen Colbert showing various expressions, and a ribbon bookmark made to give the impression of a quality book).
As for content, it contains a rehash of Stephen's nightly show, "The Colbert Report". There are different lines of text from those in the show, but they express essentially the same thing. The margin notes are reminiscent of the written comments appearing in the "Word" segment of his show. They are amusing, but rarely funny in the book. I never cracked a smile in reading this, whereas his show is uproarious.
I think Stephen is capitalizing on his fame and rabid following at this time to publish a book which essentially says nothing original.
I sold my copy (on Amazon) after reading it once. I saw nothing in it that would make me want to keep it, or even re-read it.
In a word (pun intended), borrow this book from a library and read it. There is no reason to spend money on this "cheat".
(Additionally, my copy of the book had a publisher's error, in that the front endplate was folded over twice, as in the bookbinding process. This, of course, did not interfere with reading the book. However, it did detract from the virgin condition of most new books.)